Poultry drinking-fountain.



W. A. SEXTON. POULTRY DRINKING FOUNTAIN. APPLICATION IILED JAN.25. 1911Patented 0013. 10,1911.

COLUMBIA MOGPAIH 50.. WASHINGTON, D. c

UNTT STTS 'r rrro.

POULTRY DRINKING-FOUNTAIN.

Application filed January 25, 1911.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, TILLIAM A. Snx'roN, of Somerville, in the county ofMiddlesex and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new anduseful Improvements in Poultry Drinking-Fountains, of which thefollowing is a specification.

This invention relates to a poultry drinking fountain comprising areservoir having a filling opening at one end and a pan or troughdetachably secured to the reservoir in position to surround the fillingopening and project above the same, the reservoir being provided withone or more out-lets adj acent to its receiving opening and arranged topermit the escape of suflicient water from the reservoir to charge thepan, and to be sealed by the accumulation of water in the pan to preventfurther discharge until the supply in the pan is reduced, the reservoirbeing closed excepting at such filling and discharge openings so thatwater is supported in it by atmospheric pressure when the pan ischarged.

The invention has for its object to provide a simple and inexpensiveconstruction of reservoir and pan having means for detachably connectingsaid parts by friction in such manner as to securely hold the parts inengagement and to permit their disengagement by a tipping or tiltingmovement of the pan relatively to the reservoir.

The invention consists in the improve ments which I will now proceed todescribe and claim.

I40 of the pan being broken away; Fig. 2 represents a longitudinalvertical section showing the fountain mounted on a vertical support;Fig. 3 represents a side view showing the reservoir in position forfilling, the pan be- '45,ing shown by dotted lines; and Fig. 4 represents a top view of a portion of the pan.

Similar reference characters indicate the same or similar parts in allthe figures.

The reservoir of my improved fountain IJfcomprises a body portion 12,which is of cylindrical form, and has a closed end or head 13, atapering breast 14:, and a reduced cylindrical neck or mouth portion 15,the outer end of which is preferably rolled or bent to form an annularstiffening flange 16.

The pan of my improved fountain com- Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 10, 1911.

Serial No. 604,602.

prises a circular bottom 17, and a circular margin or curb 18. Thebottom 17 is provided with an upwardly projecting coupling shoulder 19,the external surface of which is cylindrical and is formed to have aclose frictional locking fit on the cylindrical interior surface of theneck 15 adjacent to the stiffening flange 16.

The coupling shoulder 19 is rigidly backed so that it cannot yieldinwardly to decrease its diameter, said shoulder being preferably formedby pressing the central portion 17 of the bottom of the pan upwardlyinto the interior of the pan, said offset portion and the shoulder 19constituting a circular boss which is surrounded by the outer portion 17of the pan bottom.

When the reservoir is in the position shown by Fig. 3, the pan may befrictionally locked to it by forcing the coupling shoulder 19 into theneck 15 until the portion 17 of the pan bottom comes in contact with thestiffening flange 16, the bottom portion 17 constituting a seat for theneck of the reservoir. hen the parts are thus engaged, it is practically impossible, owing to the cylindrical form of the shoulder 19 andthe close locking fit of the said shoulder 011 the interior of the neck15, to remove the pan from the reservoir, or the reservoir from the panso long as the bottom of the pan remains parallel with the outer end ofthe neck 15. I mean by this that the pressure of the contents of thereservoir, when the latter is inverted, as shown by Figs. 1 and 2,cannot possibly displace the pan, and that the described connectionbetween the pan and the reservoir cannot be broken except by extremelyheavy pressure, unless the bottom of the pan is tipped or inclined, asindicated by dotted lines in Fig. 3.

The engagement between the reservoir and pan is sufficient to preventthe reservoir from being accidentally tipped and overturned when thedevice is in use and the pan rests on a support. The reservoirtherefore, requires no support excepting that afforded by the pan,hence, the portion of the pan surrounding the neck of the reservoir isentirely unobstructed and constitutes an annular open trough from anypart of which fowls may drink.

Owing to the fact that the coupling shoulder 19 is concentric with thecurb 18 of the pan, and that said curb is separated at all points by aconsiderable space from the shoulder 19, any part of the curb may beutilized as a handle whereby the pan may be tilted or inclined when theparts are in the position shown by Fig. 3. When pressure is exertedagainst the curb at one side of the neck of the reservoir tending toincline the pan, the frictional locking engagement between the pan andthe neck of the reservoir is easily broken, the opposite side of theneck, bearing on the bottom of the pan, constituting a fulcrum on whichthe bottom of the pan is tipped.

The reservoir neck 15 is provided with one or more small outlets 20located below the out-er edge of the curb when the reservoir isinverted, said outlet permitting enough water to escape from thereservoir to charge the pan, and being sealed by the charge when thewater reaches a sufficient height.

The reservoir body is provided at one edge of its closed end or headwithaloop 22 which is bent to form oppositely inclined ears 23, andhinge pintles 24;, the latter being engaged with a hinge socket 25attached to the reservoir body.

When the fountain is in position for use, as shown by Figs. 1 and 2, theloop 22 may be turned upwardly into alinement with one side of thereservoir body and engaged with a hook or suspending device 26projecting from a vertical support 27, the ears 23 at the same timebearing against the periphery of the reservoir and preventing the earsfrom swinging outwardly from said periphery, the loop being thus madepractically rigid so that the upper end of the reservoir body cannotswing loosely away from the support 27. When the reservoir is inposition for filling, as shown by Fig. 3, the cars 23 swing under thehead of the reservoir and bear on the ground, the said ears and the loopbeing substantially parallel with the head of the reservoir.

28 represents a flat seat attached to the reservoir body below the loop22 and adapted to bear on the support 27 and prevent the reservoir fromturning sidewise.

The contraction of the neck 15 is such that all portions of theperiphery of the body 12 overhang said neck, so that the pan may be madeof relatively small diameter permitting it to occupy a position underthe body of the reservoir without conflicting with the support 27, andat the same time pro viding an unobstructed annular trough of sufiicientcapacity to permit fowls to drink conveniently, the curb 18 constitutingthe outer wall of said trough.

It will be seen that when the fountain is in use, the bottom of the panmay bear directly on the ground, the described frictional lockingconnection between the pan and reservoir, due to the cylindrical form ofthe periphery of the boss and of the interior of the neck, and also tothe fact the curb to be utilized as a handle.

ready stated, the resistance to separation by that the flange 16 of theneck bears on the bottom of the pan around the boss, being of sufficientstrength to prevent liability of the reservoir being accidentally tippedand disconnected from the pan.

Since the curb 18 does not support the reservoir, said curb may be maderelatively narrow or low and integral with the bottom of the pan, asshown by Fig. 2, the curb being of tapering form so that the entire panmay be economically manufactured by dies without seams or joints.

It will be further seen that the shoulder 19, formed by the margin ofthe boss andsurrounded by the outer portion of the bot-- tom of the pan,projects upwardly from said surrounding portion and is of uniformdiameter from its junction with the surrounding portion to the centralportion 17 constituting the crown of the boss. The width or height ofsaid shoulder is much less than the diameter of the boss so that theinternally cylindrical neck of the reservoir is adapted, by a relativelyshort downward movement, to have a tight frictional fit on all parts ofsaid shoulder. The downward movement of the reservoir upon the boss islimited by the bearing of the end of the reservoir neck upon thesurrounding por-' tion of the bottom of the pan. When the neck of thereservoir comes to a bearing on the bottom of the pan, the reservoir andpan are interlocked in such manner as to strongly resist separation by arectilinear movement of one part relatively to the other, and tostrongly resist separation bya tipping movement of one of the parts.When the parts are interlocked, there is no possibility of theirseparation by the downward pressure of the body of the liquid in thereservoir when the device is inposition for use as shown by Figs. 1 and2. When the device is in the position shown by Fig. 3, the pan may bereadily disengaged by tipping it, as"

indicated by dotted lines, the uniform projection of all parts of thecurb of the pan from the shoulder 19 enabling any part of As ala tippingmovement is much less than the resistance to separation by a rectilinearmovement, so that, while there is a strong engagement between the partswhen the device is in use, this engagement can be readily broken when itis desired to separate the parts.

I claim;-

1. A poultry drinking fountain comprising a pan having on its bottom acircular boss surrounded by the outer portion of the bottom and forminga narrow upwardly projecting cylindrical shoulder of uniform diameterfrom the junction of the boss with the surrounding portion of the bottomto the crown of the boss, the width or height of the said shoulder beingmuch less than the diameter of the boss, and a reservoir having aninternally cylindrical neck the interior of which is formed to have atight frictional fit on all parts of said shoulder, whereby thereservoir and pan are interlocked to strongly resist separation by arectilinear movement of one part relatively to the other, and to lessstrongly resist senaration by a tipping movemnt of one of the parts, themouth of the reservoir bearing on the surrounding portion of the bottomof the pan when the parts are interlocked, and the pan being providedwith a curb which projects uniformly from all parts of the boss, wherebyany part of said curb may be utilized as a handle whereby the pan may betipped to disengage it from the reservoir.

2. A poultry drinking fountain comprising a cylindrical reservoir havinga con tracted neck portion and a body portion which is closed at one endand overhangs the neck portion when the reservoir is mounted, and acircular pan formed to surround the neck portion of the reservoir,andhaving its curb or margin located under the body portion thereof,whereby the reservoir and pan may be located at one side of a verticalsupport with which the reservoir is engaged, the reservoir body beingprovided at one edge of its closed end with a hinged loop adapted toswing upwardly from the said end into alinement with one side of thereservoir to engage a projection on said support and having stop armsadapted to bear against one side of the body and limit the upwardswinging of the loop, the loop and arms being adapted to swing to aposition substantially parallel with the closed end of the reservoir,the reservoir body being also provided with an elongated rest locatedbetween the said loop and pan, adapted to bear against said support andprevent the reservoir from turning when the loop is engaged with saidprojection.

In testimony whereof I have affixed my signature, in presence of twowitnesses.

WILLIAM A. SEXTON.

Witnesses:

C. F. BROWN, P. W. PEZZETTI.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, I). G.

